THE “SHOWN TO THE
CHILDREN” SERIES
1. BEASTS
With 48 Coloured Plates by PERCY J. BILLINGHURST. Letterpress by LENA
DALKEITH.
2. FLOWERS
With 48 Coloured Plates showing 150 flowers, by JANET HARVEY KELMAN.
Letterpress by C. E. SMITH.
3. BIRDS
With 48 Coloured Plates by M. K. C. SCOTT. Letterpress by J. A.
HENDERSON.
4. THE SEA-SHORE
With 48 Coloured Plates by JANET HARVEY KELMAN. Letterpress by Rev.
THEODORE WOOD.
5. THE FARM
With 48 Coloured Plates by F. M. B. and A. H. BLAIKIE. Letterpress by
FOSTER MEADOW.
6. TREES
With 32 Coloured Plates by JANET HARVEY KELMAN. Letterpress by C. E.
SMITH.
7. NESTS AND EGGS
With 48 Coloured Plates by A. H. BLAIKIE. Letterpress by J. A.
HENDERSON.
8. BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
With 48 Coloured Plates by JANET HARVEY KELMAN. Letterpress by Rev.
THEODORE WOOD.
9. STARS
By ELLISON HAWKS.
10. GARDENS
With 32 Coloured Plates by J. H. KELMAN. Letterpress by J. A.
HENDERSON.
11. BEES
By ELLISON HAWKS. Illustrated in Colour and Black and White.
THE “SHOWN TO THE CHILDREN” SERIES
EDITED BY LOUEY CHISHOLM
BEES
[Illustration: Pollen gathers on Buttercups]
BEES
SHOWN TO THE CHILDREN
BY
ELLISON HAWKS
Member of the British Bee Keepers’ Association, etc., etc.
Author of “Stars”
[Illustration]
ILLUSTRATED
LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK
NEW YORK: THE PLATT & PECK CO.
TO
MY TWO LITTLE FRIENDS
ANNIE AND KATIE
THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Dear Annie and Katie,--When I was a little boy I often wished that my
soldiers would come to life. I used to think how grand it would be if
only I could have a city of little people on the dining-room table. Of
course my dreams never came true, even though one day I had a brilliant
idea, and wrapped a whole regiment of soldiers in flannel and put them
in the oven, hoping that in this way I should find them really alive
next morning!
But nowadays I have a wonderful city of tiny workers, that can be put
on a table. In it there are soldiers, food gatherers, bread-makers,
undertakers, and a host of others. It is ruled over by a queen, and
each day the gates of the city are crowded with the workers, who pass
in and out in hundreds.
Have you guessed that my wonderful city is really a bee-hive? Although
I cannot command my little friends to do this thing or that, to come
here or go there, yet I am quite content to leave them to their own
ways, and just to watch them in their daily life, and to study their
customs and laws.
In this little book I intend to tell you something about my bees. I
hope that you will be interested to read what I have written, and then
perhaps, later on, when you grow up, you may keep bees, and you will be
able to study their wonderful ways for yourselves.
I am sure you will join me in giving our best thanks to my friends who
have so kindly helped me in the preparation of some of the pictures: to
Mr. W. Barker, Mr. D. Ingham, Mr. H. Mackie, Mr. G. W. Stephenson; and
to Mr. J. Lambert for permission to use Plates Nos. XIV., XV., XXVII.,
XXIX. and XXX.
My thanks are due also to Mr. W. H. McCormick for his kindness in
reading over the proofs.
Yours truly,
ELLISON HAWKS.
10 GRANGE TERRACE,
LEEDS, 1912.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. ABOUT THE BEE 1
II. THE QUEEN BEE 3
III. THE DRONE 5
IV. THE WORKER BEE 7
V. THE MICROSCOPE 8
VI. THE HEAD 10
VII. THE WONDERFUL ANTENNÆ 12
VIII. THE EYES 16
IX. THE TONGUE AND MOUTH PARTS 20
X. THE JAWS 23
XI. THE THORAX 25
XII. THE LEGS 27
XIII. THE FIRST PAIR OF LEGS 29
XIV. THE SECOND AND THIRD PAIR OF LEGS 31
XV. THE WINGS 33
XVI. THE ABDOMEN 36
XVII. THE BREATHING APPARATUS 39
XVIII. THE STING 41
XIX. THE ANCIENTS AND BEES 44
XX. THE HIVE 49
XXI. A VISIT TO A HIVE 52
XXII. THE CITY GATE 54
XXIII. THE GUARD BEES 58
XXIV. WORKERS IN THE CITY 60
XXV. THE COMB BUILDERS 63
XXVI. THE LIFE OF THE BEE 68
XXVII. THE STORY OF THE QUEEN 72
XXVIII. THE POLLEN GATHERERS 74
XXIX. THE VARNISH MAKERS 77
XXX. THE NECTAR GATHERERS 79
XXXI. THE WINTER SLEEP 82
XXXII. THE SWARM 84
XXXIII. TAKING THE SWARM 87
XXXIV. THE OLD HIVE AFTER A SWARM 89
XXXV. THE MASSACRE OF THE DRONES 91
XXXVI. HONEY 93
XXXVII. MODERN BEE-KEEPING 96
XXXVIII. THE BEES’ ENEMIES 99
XXXIX. POWERS OF COMMUNICATION 101
XL. BEE FLOWERS 104
XLI. POLLEN 107
XLII. BEES AND FLOWERS 110
XLIII. HOW FLOWERS PROTECT THEIR NECTAR 113
XLIV. HOW FLOWERS ARE FERTILISED 115
XLV. CONCLUSION 118
[Illustration: PLATE I
From a photograph by] [E. Hawks
Drone Queen Worker
The Three Kinds of Bees]
BEES
CHAPTER I
ABOUT THE BEE
No matter how small an insect may be, it is sure to teach us something
interesting if we study its habits, and try to find out how the various
parts of its body are used. Perhaps of all the thousands of different
insects upon the earth, the most wonderful of all are Bees. When we
speak of bees we generally think of those which live in the white hives
we sometimes see in gardens; these are the bees kept by a man to make
honey for him. You will perhaps be surprised, therefore, to learn that
there are over 2000 different kinds of bees known at the present time,
and that over 200 of these species are found in Great Britain. These
include the different kinds of hive bees and also the wild bees, for
there are races of bees just as there are races of mankind. In this
little book I hope to tell you about the hive bee, or, as it is called
by its Latin name, _Apis mellifica_ (“the honey bee”). In the first few
chapters we shall learn something about the body of the bee, and its
different limbs and organs. Later on we shall consider the construction
of the hive, and the habits of the bees which dwell therein.
The word insect comes from the Latin, and means “divided into parts.”
If you look at the body of a bee, or of any other insect, you will
find that it is divided into three parts. These three divisions are
respectively known as the Head, the Thorax, and the Abdomen. The head
carries the _antennæ_ or feelers, as they may be called; the thorax,
or chest, has the wings and legs joined to it; whilst the abdomen, or
hindermost part of the body, contains the stomach and internal organs.
There are three kinds of bees in a hive--the Queen, the Drone, and the
Worker, and a picture of these is seen in Plate I. Only one queen bee
is found in each hive, though there may be several hundred drones and
perhaps 50,000 or 60,000 workers. The number of the workers and drones
varies according to the size of the hive and the time of the year.
The races of bees are many, but the best known is the British bee,
sometimes called the Black Bee. Why it should be called “black” no one
seems to know, for, as a matter of fact, it is of a beautiful rich
brown colour. Then there is the Ligurian bee, which is of a lighter
shade, and has three golden bands around its abdomen, by which you
will easily recognise it. The Carniolian bees are natives of Carniolia
in Austria, and they also have rings, but of a lighter yellow colour,
while the bee itself is not such a dark brown as the Ligurian.
Carniolian bees are supposed to be very sweet-tempered, and are
therefore sometimes called “the lady’s bees.” Whether they really are
better-tempered than other races is a question, for the temper of the
little insects depends a great deal upon circumstances. For instance,
if spiders have been trying to get into the hive, the bees are often
very cross, and it is dangerous to go anywhere near them. But should
there be no trouble of this kind to worry them, the hive may be opened
and the bees handled without fear.
[Illustration: PLATE II
From a photograph by] [E. Hawks
Queen]